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UIUC Rare Book Cataloging Policy

Adopted by the Cataloging Policy Committee, October 2004
Revised April 2008

MATERIALS COVERED BY THIS POLICY

Materials that are distinguished by notable characteristics of age, high value, format or production (particularly items printed on the hand-press), or by their inclusion in discrete collections of materials with these characteristics, should be cataloged according to this policy.  The Rare Book & Manuscript Library has transfer guidelines (see Appendix 1) which can also be used to identify the specific categories of material to be cataloged according to this policy.  These may be extended (but not reduced) by other cataloging units.

OBJECTIVES

The Bibliographic Standards Committee of the Rare Books and Manuscripts Section of ACRL has enumerated the following objectives of rare materials cataloging in Descriptive Cataloging of Rare Materials (Books) (III.1.1-III.1-4).

  1. Users shall be able to distinguish clearly between different manifestations of an expression or work.  For this reason, separate catalog records are required for different editions and issues of a title, and important differences of state should be recorded when possible.
  2. Users shall be able to perform most identification and selection tasks independently of direct access to the materials.  For preservation purposes, descriptive cataloging should be sufficiently detailed to represent the work independently.
  3. Users shall be able to investigate physical processes and post-production history and context exemplified in materials described.  This means that physical characteristics of the work should be recorded in detail, since users will be interested in groups of material generally unrelated to each other in terms of their content.
  4. Users shall be able to access materials whose production or presentation characteristics deviate from modern conventions.  Descriptive cataloging should include information of a technical nature, which may not be familiar to contemporary users, but which is crucial for identification and advanced bibliographical purposes.  Examples include signature statements, identification of bibliographic format, and illustration techniques.

In addition, accurate cataloging of rare materials is essential for security reasons.  The catalog should record copy-specific information that would uniquely identify the library's copy or copies from other copies of the same title for legal purposes. 

DCRM(B)

In order to meet these special objectives and user needs, rare materials (see Appendix 1) should be cataloged using the manual, Descriptive Cataloging of Rare Materials (Books) (Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress, 2007), which is itself the authorized Library of Congress interpretation of AACR2 2.12-2.18 (section on "Early printed monographs").

The following features of DCRM(B) rules and local applications should be noted in particular:

General:

040 Field:

Catalogers in The Rare Book & Manuscript Library must:

245 Field:

246 Field:

250 Field:

260 Field:

300 Field:

500 Field: Mandatory notes:

REFERENCES

Make identifying references to standard bibliographies in the 510 field, according to Standard citation forms for published bibliographies and catalogs used in rare book cataloging, 2nd ed. (Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress, 1995), also available in Cataloger's Desktop (http://desktop.loc.gov).

 Note: The ESTC database should be verified and updated for all appropriate holdings.

COPY-SPECIFIC NOTES

In addition to mandatory notes called for by DCRM(B), make copy-specific notes using 500 fields, adding ‡5 IU-R.
500 Field (with subfield $5 IU-R), using standard introductory terms to notes as indicated below:

NOTES IN HOLDING RECORDS (MFHD)

853 Acquisitions information and stamped accession numbers (when present) should be added to subfield z, on the following model:

When numerous notes would cause possible confusion in the bibliographic record, catalogers should include copy-specific notes in the MFHD.
561 Former Ownership History
562 Copy Specific Note
563 Binding Note

Tracings associated with MFHD notes (e.g. thesaurus terms, names) are to be added to the bibliographic record in the appropriate field followed by ‡5 IU-R.

GENRE HEADINGS AND OTHER CONTROLLED VOCABULARIES

Use the 655 field to make reference to features included in the special controlled vocabularies/thesauri developed by the RBMS Bibliographic Standards Committee available at http://www.rbms.info/committees/bibliographic_standards/controlled_vocabularies/index.shtml. Any term that is copy-specific should also include ‡5 IU-R at the end of the field.
RBMS controlled vocabulary entries should be subdivided by country and by century.

The indicators for the 655 field are "_ 7", to allow for a source code subfield at the end of the field, as follows:

Genre Terms:             655 _ 7 ‡a term ‡z country ‡y century. ‡2 rbgenr

Binding Terms:        655 _ 7 ‡a term (Binding) ‡z country ‡y century ‡2 rbbin

Provenance Evidence:         655 _ 7 ‡a term (Provenance) ‡z country ‡y century ‡2 rbpro

Printing & Publishing Evidence:  655 _ 7 ‡a term (Printing) ‡z country ‡y century ‡2 rbpri

Printing & Publishing Evidence:  655 _ 7 ‡a term (Publishing) ‡z country ‡y century ‡2 rbpub

The following genre headings will be used, where appropriate, for rare and special items:

Any additional headings from authorized vocabularies/thesauri may be added at the cataloger's discretion.

ADDED ENTRIES

7xx fields:

752 Field:

NAMES OF COLLECTIONS

Notes naming the collection in which an item is a part should appear in the 590 field (no subfield ‡5 required) unless an authorized corporate heading has been established (e.g. 710 2_ Post-1650 Manuscript Collection (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Library)).

Authority Control

All 1XX, 6XX, and 7XX fields should use established headings as found in the LC/NACO Authority File whenever possible. Catalogers may use judgment to add non-authorized but necessary headings. Catalogers with NACO authorization should weigh the required time commitment against the ultimate benefit of establishing new headings.

MANUSCRIPTS

All manuscripts, unless already part of an existing special collection, should be included in the Pre-1650 Manuscript Collection or the Post-1650 Manuscript Collection as appropriate (when a manuscript is dated to ca. 1650, prefer the Pre-1650 Manuscript Collection). All pre-1650 manuscripts are cataloged according to Gregory A. Pass, Descriptive Cataloging of Ancient, Medieval, Renaissance, and Early Modern Manuscripts (Chicago: Association of College and Research Libraries, 2003). All post-1650 manuscripts should be cataloged using appropriate rules (AMREMM, AACR2, etc.).

INCUNABULA

All incunabula are cataloged according to the current version of "Guidelines for the Cataloging of Incunabula at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign".

TRAINING

The best course in rare book cataloging is offered by the Rare Book School at the University of Virginia (http://www.virginia.edu/oldbooks/). All those involved with cataloging rare materials are urged to take this course.

QUESTIONS

Questions regarding this policy may be addressed to Alvan Bregman, Rare Book Collections Librarian (abregman@illinois.edu) or Christopher D. Cook, Rare Book Cataloging Project Manager (cdcook@illinois.edu).

APPENDIX 1

General Policies Governing Materials under the Care
of The Rare Book & Manuscript Library

Books belonging to any of the following categories are to be sent to The Rare Book & Manuscript Library:

  1. Early imprints issued prior to the dates indicated below:

    Europe: 1821
    Asia: 1821
    English language imprints from any location: 1821
    United States and Possessions: 1851 except

     

    Alaska 1901 Arizona 1891 Arkansas 1871
    		 Boston 1821
    California 1876 Chicago 1872 Colorado 1877 Florida 1861
    Hawaii 1861 Idaho 1891 Iowa 1861 Kansas 1876
    Minnesota 1866 Montana 1891 Nebraska 1876 Nevada 1891
    New Mexico 1876 New York City 1821 North Dakota 1891 Oklahoma 1871
    Oregon 1876 Philadelphia 1821 South Dakota 1891 Texas 1861
    Utah 1891 Washington 1876 Wyoming 1891


    Confederate States imprints: 1860-1865
    Africa: 1851
    Australia: 1851
    Canada: 1851, except

    Alberta 1901 British Columbia 1901 Manitoba 1901 Saskatchewan 1901


    Latin America: 1851

    Note:  In the case of periodical, newspaper and other serial sets started prior to and continued after the dates indicated above, only those "early imprint" volumes known to be rare are to be sent to The Rare Book & Manuscript Library.

  2. Works of high market value (generally over $1,000 per volume).
  3. Works printed in editions of 100 copies or less.
  4. Exceptionally finely produced books, including superfine facsimiles.
  5. Examples of private press publications.
  6. Ephemeral works of special importance (e.g., scarce pamphlets or broadsides).
  7. Delicate works whose storage or use requires special care or mediation.
  8. Works with important provenance or association (e.g., presentation copies signed by important authors).
  9. Manuscripts, except those within the scope of the University Archives or the Illinois Historical Survey.
  10. Books with movable parts, e.g., pop-up books.
  11. Children's books printed before 1920.
  12. Material that may enhance one of the named special collections or collection areas of The Rare Book & Manuscript Library (e.g., Wells, Sandburg, Merwin, Mark Twain, Proust, Milton).  For a selective list of named special collections see: http://www.library.uiuc.edu/rbx/manuscript.htm.
  13. The archival copy of all University theses.

Appendix rev. 7/2/2008